Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-02-28


the company in the towns centre went
at the rate Of $4,000 an acre. The
Alabama Great Southern railroad was
ohered and as gilt tor its shops In the
early days of Birming CHAM and failed TO
take possession. The same land is
marketable for 100000 now. l have
been given the names OF score OF men
VINO came here poor MALT dozen years
ago VINO are now reputed TO be worth
fortunes OF SIT, 900 each, all made out
Of Birmingham real estate. There 10 a
social organization here called the Ala
Dama Club, with a membership of 100
young men; a man with q lead pencil
ana genius for statistics calculated Tor
me yesterday that each Of the $50 men,
oers was worth, ON an average, at least
$4,000, all made out of real estate buy
ing and selling. Boys who cannot raise
moustache can raise $4,000. Business
building lots range from $500 TO $1,000
per front foot all over town. Residence
lots are valued from $4,000 to $1,000 with
20 feet front in the less desirable parts OF
the town; in the ''resdence districP-to
borrow local descriptive phrase-S4OO
or 5000 front foot is not considered in
any sense excessive.
But there is after all-and do not know
why there should be any need for dis
guising it-a vast deal of humbuggery in
all this rampant furore of speculation.
Do not, dear Northern reader of cOnser-
vative ideas, do not deceive yourself into
the supposition that when a man talks
about 81 900 or $l,000.000 down in this
burg that ne necessarily means that much
cash or any other certain amount of cash.
He means nothing OF the sort. 1t would
be an overestimate, indeed, to claim that
as much as 10 per cent. IS paid on the
average. Against the land that origi-
nally cost 500, 900, the Elyton Land Com
PAW to-day holds So, 000, 600 of mortgages.
Notes pay for land. Men with no sub
stantlal collateral whatever give their
notes and have them accepted here for
fabulous sums. John buys a lot with
500 cash and his note for 5000. He sell to
Joe tor $500 cash and notes for $1,000,
scoops in the 500 cash profit. and fig
ures out that his real profit is 5000. An
drew comes along, takes the property,
paws in the Same way, and so the merry
go-rOund makes everyb body happy and
rich. But, 8h, what a tuture there is
here for the lawyer. Blrmingham's real
estate transactions could stop right here,
and there would be litigation enough
ahead to last a century through, so
tangled are titles here already. Cash
value is a myth. Only the greenhorn
pays out dollars when he knows the
market value of the promissOry note.
The whirlwind cOmeth sure; we won't
have TO wait long for it; mark that pre-
dlctiOn. Men buy and sell land OF whose
location and appearance they have not
the taintest idea.
And far over on the mountains outside
of city limits, three, four, six, even a
dozen miles from town, the "boomers"
have marked up ''values" till there Is
nothing akin to anything but shame in it,
Away out in the woods, where natives
are still hunting bear and deer, and shoot
ing wild geese, tame geese are "invest-
Ing" in building lots-"choice Sites" as
the poetical prospectus names them.
have learned Of very many instances OF
where farmers have mOrtgaged their
farms, where merchants IN neighb0ring
towns have quit business, and (by
scores on scores) where clerks and
young men managing plantations have
run away from this legitimate business to
come here and take part in the hurry
burly speculation that has the promise,
they imagine, of panning out millions for
every siXpence Invested. And in every
instance, according to the local chronicle,
has been fruitful so far OF handsome
profits.
Here IS true story: Three years ago
aNe w Yorker came here with 81, 600. He
bought an acre and half of land, He
sold out for s., 900, and little later bought
an acre OF il back for the same sum that
he had sold the acre and a half for. On
up it went. and he got 81, 900 for his acre.
He bought back atterward one-half of it
for S., GOO and so went on through half a
dozen transactions till now he owns but
a wee bit OF a strip of that original acre
and u half, aud for that he has paid $780,
900. He counts his fortune az just that
amount, and though as yet scarce "A
single building is on that ground that
was not there when he originally pad
$1,000 for it, he believes that he mas made
a profit OF $4,000. AS TACT he has but a
lew Jumps OF clay where he used to have
a field full of it. Yes, he has some notes;
but-but-but-we!l, there is a time that
the prophets tell about when there may
he a.weeping and waiting and q gnash-
iGg of teeth. And the gentleman may
ind that in the end he can raise more DO
tatoes on an acre and malt than he can
on % by 80 foot strip; and there will be
a generation or two, L reckon, who will
have the chance TO do the potato act be-
fore anything like residences jam up
against one another here. still, il
Birmingham goes right on growing in
population as she has in the last half
dozen years, there may be q need for build
ing lots out where our New Yorker is in
about Ammo DOmIni 2S44-or soon after.
IL. A.